Cooking for people different caloric requirements.

MrsBingley
MrsBingley Posts: 145
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all.

I am currently eating about 1500-1800 cals/day depending on my exercise load. This is a pretty decent cut from what I was eating before. To make the adjustment as comfortable as possible, I have adjusted most of my home cooked food to be less calories dense (volumetrics).

The problem is, My husband needs an insane amount of food to maintain his weight (he's a lean 187, 6'4"). If he eats less than 4000 cals/day, he loses weight. (I know many of you won't believe this, but he is metabolically abnormal-diagnosed)

He can't eat enough of my volumetric food to feel satisfied without simultaneously feeling stuffed and bloated. As a result, he is heavily supplementing his diet with "junk" food. Now, I'm perfectly fine with that, as "junk" food has always been about 1/3 of his diet, but lately it has been about 2/3 of his diet and he has been complaining about not feeling well.

Many nights, I have taken to making 2 seperate dinners. I really like cooking, but this is a bit much even for me.

What I'm looking for are some suggestions for dinner recipes that can be easily adjusted to calorie dense/calorie light versions.

Some considerations:
I can't just add avocado to stuff- he hates it.
I can't just add bacon to stuff - he eats a crapload of it at breakfast and gets burnt out on it.

For any recipies where it actually makes it taste better, I have been adding herb infused olive oils, but that only gets me so far.
I have also been adding cream/butter/sour cream to his soups.

Any other ideas are greatly appreciated.

Thanks
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Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    What types of food are you preparing? Can he just add a couple pieces of chicken or a steak on the side? A roll or piece of bread with butter, drizzle some olive oil or melt some cheese over his veggies?
  • GardeningZombie
    GardeningZombie Posts: 55 Member
    Prepare your high and low calorie foods separately. For example, cooking up beans and rice, and sautéing up cabbage and other vegetables. Then you can have a 2:1 cabbage to B&R, while he reverses the amount. As long as you can portion them separately you both can enjoy the same meal :-)


    BTW If your not used to a beans, rice, cabbage diet, be prepared for a sheet lifting nigh t:noway: Those gut flora may no be ready for the long chained carbs.
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
    I have skinny men in my family. The difference in our diets tends to be in carbs. They eat a lot of pasta, rice, bread and potatoes whereas I eat very little of those items. They eat two or three times the portion sizes of meat and veggies I do. And yes, they eat junk. My teenaged son drinks a lot of milk and supplements with ramen. He would die without ramen.
  • mapenguinkeeper
    mapenguinkeeper Posts: 191
    does hubby have broken arm? why can't he cook some nights?
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member


    The problem is, My husband needs an insane amount of food to maintain his weight (he's a lean 187, 6'4"). If he eats less than 4000 cals/day, he loses weight. (I know many of you won't believe this, but he is metabolically abnormal-diagnosed)

    i hate him
  • rachface1234
    rachface1234 Posts: 227 Member
    Add nuts and cheese and more carbs to his portions! :) lucky man!
  • VelvetMorning
    VelvetMorning Posts: 398 Member
    Nuts are pretty darn high in calories. Two cups of cashews = ~1,200 calories, and two cups isn't really a great deal. Maybe keep some nuts in the house for him to snack on in the place of junk to wean him back to 1/3rd instead of 2/3rds?

    I kinda wish I had his problem.
  • missyfitter
    missyfitter Posts: 11 Member
    I have a 6'4 husband too - i always double or triple his portion compared to mine.

    I try to make healthy food from my Jamie Oliver cook books. His ingredients are wholesome and the meals are tasty.

    I also encourage him to snack on nuts, dried fruits, cheese, and protein shakes between meals.

    Good luck!
  • PennyM140
    PennyM140 Posts: 423 Member
    Fried Chicken!!
    I don't really have anything helpful to say. I feel bad for you having to cook calorie dense food for him that you may want to limit to stay within your calorie goals. It would be very hard for me to lose or maintain weight around him, I'd be so jealous.

    More good carbs? Try adding olive oil or coconut oil to everything. Maybe some high calorie smoothies??
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Make a lot of food. Give him a lot of food.

    If he's still hungry, show him where the freezer is, and stock that with ice cream.
  • PennyM140
    PennyM140 Posts: 423 Member
    Make a lot of food. Give him a lot of food.

    If he's still hungry, show him where the freezer is, and stock that with ice cream.

    Love it, I almost said Ice cream but I know you were looking for healthy options. Maybe frozen yogurt though!!
  • iechick
    iechick Posts: 352 Member
    I eat totally separate foods/meals than my family and have been doing this for over a year now. It works really well for me and I plan on doing this long term.
  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
    There are tons of other things you can add to normal meals to make them more caloric.
    Cheeses and nuts came in many varieties, and you can find something he likes and still don't get bored. Even salads can became super-high caloric with 50 ml of dressing and 100 g pine nuts on top.

    Make/buy him desserts, if he likes them. Some cakes have like 500 calories for 100 g.

    Also, you can encourage him to snack on high calorie snacks in order to reduce the calories he needs at one meal. It can be nuts, peanut butter or even 3 bananas, or two handfull of dried dates.

    Again, pasta, rice, bread are calories added to normal veggies/meat meals.
    You can buy sausages to replaces his meat with some meals. Some sausages are like 500 calories each. You just grill them a little to become hot.

    You can serve him the same meat as you, with two pans: you grill yours and fry for him.

    But, he can also get involved in cooking. I know some men hate cooking. But he at least can make a meal 1-2 times a week for him, in order to help you. He can make more portions to have throught the week.
    There are a ton of recipies out there, from the most simple (how hard is to put some ingredients in a crockpot?) to more complex. In time he can learn to cook some simple meals that fit hit better.
    Or he can help you by doing other chores instead of you to have more time for cooking for him also. You gotta help eachother.
  • kjimmie4848
    kjimmie4848 Posts: 123 Member
    I don't cook for myself, I cook for the family first. Then I make myself an extra vegetable and skip out on the high carb side, which is usually pasta, rice, or potato.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    does hubby have broken arm? why can't he cook some nights?

    I cook, he does laundry and fixes stuff.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Hubby's not on a diet and only has dinner at home really. He eats more of what we're having, then has a snack later. Or if we make pasta/rice etc, sometimes I don't have any and everyone else has some.

    I really wouldn't make two meals honestly.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    Prepare your high and low calorie foods separately. For example, cooking up beans and rice, and sautéing up cabbage and other vegetables. Then you can have a 2:1 cabbage to B&R, while he reverses the amount. As long as you can portion them separately you both can enjoy the same meal :-)


    BTW If your not used to a beans, rice, cabbage diet, be prepared for a sheet lifting nigh t:noway: Those gut flora may no be ready for the long chained carbs.

    I do this, and it does help. Thank you
  • selfepidemic1
    selfepidemic1 Posts: 159 Member
    Oh man that sounds SO expensive! 4000 calories? Perhaps get him/make him some protein shakes, coke floats ( add double cream to coke ) should help cover a few of the calories. I have no idea how someone can eat that much D:
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Smaller portions for you, larger portions for him.
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
    I was going to say avocado. Hmmmm...what about nuts and/or peanut butter? Cheeses? More snacking throughout the day?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Why not just cook food an you have smaller portions and he has bigger portions? I'm the cook in my family and my wife doesn't need nearly the calories that I do...so she just takes smaller portions of whatever I cook and I take larger ones.

    Also, very jealous...oh the glorious ice cream I could consume if I could maintain on 4,000. As it is I maintain on roughly 2700 or so which is still about 800 - 1000 calories more than my wife needs.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    Thanks for the advice. I think the biggest takeaway is that I need to add nuts and other high-calorie-but-less-junky snacks to the grocery list.

    To clarify from my original, my husband is not making demands on me in regards to food. If he is still hungry, he can and certainly does feed himself, but since he doesn't know how to cook, it's always convenience food, which is doing a number on his system. I could teach him to cook, but making two meals still adds to the total household workload. I was just looking for food ideas that are easily modified.

    Thanks again for the suggestions.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    My calorie target is about double my wife's. We both cook, but sometimes she makes low calorie dinners. Last night was something like 245 (lol). Works for her, is a nice tasty snack for me. Then I'm looking at needing another 800+ calories to round out my day. I could easily cook up something tasty. But...

    We have a blender. Smoothies are very easy, very yummy, and can get right on target with macros. Even someone who can't cook can throw stuff in a blender. Variety of tasty ingredients, and healthy for whatever definition you want to use.
  • SakuraRose13
    SakuraRose13 Posts: 621 Member
    I have a husband who is 5ft 11 at 170 or 165 he has always been slender and he needs all the calories he can get since his job burns a crazy amount and he works 12 hr shift so she hardly eats and he is on 3rd shift , I have to remind him to eat and make him food so he has something otherwise he doesn't eat really .

    I'm 4ft 10in so my calorie intake is almost half of his and our daughters ages 19.5 months and 3 need all the calories too , my ped put them both on pediasure oldest is petite like me, my youngest is of average height for her age but slender.

    I live in a house where Im the only one who has to worry about portions and calories

    my husband likes junk food and steak potatoes asparagus, green beans corn and Mexican and Italian food , no sour cream and loves cheese but one can not suffice just on meat and cheese and he doesn't eat many veggies ,

    I told him to get protein powder he did but he never remembers to take it :) love him but he needs to start treating his body better its the only one he has

    A way I make his calorie intake higher is by adding cheese, whole milk , rice, and rice adds up quickly I noticed just 1 cup of white rice is 160 calories without anything even on it . 1 oz of cheese 110 calories hence why I don't eat much cheese these days and of course ground beef and bread since bread adds up to , sandwiches are a good way to add things
    meatballs with sauce and melted mozzarella and a sub roll is a good way and the same meatballs and sauce can be used for pasta for others .

    hope that helps
  • SapiensPisces
    SapiensPisces Posts: 992 Member
    I'm in a similar situation with my husband. I generally add fats to his food that I leave out of mine (butter, cream, extra sauces, etc.) and double his portions.
  • Lexandreia
    Lexandreia Posts: 82
    Nuts or nut butters. Vegetables such as eggplant or mushrooms soak up a ton of oil so you can lightly sautee your portion and pile on more olive oil for his. Whole-grain blends, wheat breads, wild rice and beans are all calorically dense as well. When you cook I guess you can cook each portion of his meal after your own, a little oil on yours and a lot more on his.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Just serve every meal of his with a side of carbs (rice/pasta/bread) is an easy way and what I often do for my boyfriend. I like the idea of adding cheese and nuts also.

    I'm not sure what kind of things you like to cook but I often make curries and add lite cocnut milk to lower the calorie content. You could try separating yours out before you add the coconut milk and put cocnut cream in his. Also for a pasta dish add pesto to yours and pesto and full fat cream to his.

    Another option is just to get him on the smoothies/shakes. Load these up with nut butter, full fat milk, fruit, seeds, protein powder etc.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145
    Why not just cook food an you have smaller portions and he has bigger portions? I'm the cook in my family and my wife doesn't need nearly the calories that I do...so she just takes smaller portions of whatever I cook and I take larger ones.

    Also, very jealous...oh the glorious ice cream I could consume if I could maintain on 4,000. As it is I maintain on roughly 2700 or so which is still about 800 - 1000 calories more than my wife needs.

    Haha! For normal humans, this is fine, but while my husband needs a huge amount of calories, his stomach does not seem to be larger by volume than other people's. He quickly runs into indigestion if he tries to eat enough calories of most "normal" "healthy" food, like rice and grilled chicken.
  • MrsBingley
    MrsBingley Posts: 145


    The problem is, My husband needs an insane amount of food to maintain his weight (he's a lean 187, 6'4"). If he eats less than 4000 cals/day, he loses weight. (I know many of you won't believe this, but he is metabolically abnormal-diagnosed)

    i hate him

    It really really isn't fair.
  • Klarini
    Klarini Posts: 9 Member
    I usually cook a meal with a bit of olive oil and then a bit before it is finished I separate a portion for me and add more olive oil to the food left in the pot/pan and cook some more. I also add butter, cream, cheese to the meals saved for my husband and children. For me, I usually cut out those from recipes as they are too calorific, but for them I make full version meals.
    Sometimes when I don't have time for this (although it really adds just a bit of extra time) I cook a version that is somewhere in the middle - so not full version, but not a "skinny" version either and than I cut on my portion size and add a bit more food to their plate.
    Adding carbs like pasta and rice would work too.

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